Physical Activity Researcher

How to Monitor Training Effects in Strength Training - Dr Heikki Peltonen (Pt1)

In this episode we are talking with Dr Peltonen about the themes related to his PhD dissertation:
Isometric Force-Time Parameters in Monitoring of Strength TrainingWith Special Reference to Acute Responses to Different Loading Resistances
Training monitoring has been a common trend in endurance sports and activities over the past several years through the use of heart rate monitors, pedometers, cycling monitors etc. Nevertheless, athletes and enthusiasts, even the same ones as in endurance sport, train in the gym without any accurate training monitors most trainees still keep a training diary by pen and paper. New miniature technologies and their lowered prices enable the development of new innovative monitoring solutions, however these solutions need valid parameters to follow adaptations in strength training as well. One possibility is to utilize isometric strength testing through in-built devices or retrofit sensors. The physiology of the human body reacts to strength training in severalways, and thus neuromuscular adaptation via stress and fatigue is a multifaceted phenomenon from the aspects of time and complex causal dependencies. Therefore, one justifiable theoretical framework is that the performance outcome is the sum of all these physiological changes with performance technique, both in terms of improvement and impairment, due to a single-session of gym exercise and regularly repeated gym sessions (i.e. strength training). However, monitoring via only one training-specific parameter may overestimate the effect of this specific training and overlook or hide other aspects of changes in physiology of the trainee. Training specificity is a well-known and longstanding principle in the field of sport and exercise science (Baker et al. 1994).
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research
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Collect, store and manage SB and PA data easily and remotely -
Discover new Fibion SENS Motion: https://sens.fibion.com/
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What are the Methodological Challenges in Researching Flow? Dr Trish Jackman (Pt2) - Meaningful Sport Series

This is the second part of our discussion on flow in sport, exercise and physical activity with Dr Trish Jackman. What are the current trends and challenges in studying flow from quantitative and qualitative perspectives? What needs to be considered when studying flow in youth sport? What are the most exciting future directions in this area?
Dr Trish Jackman is a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of Lincoln, who shares her thoughts on flow in sport and exercise from a research and a personal perspective.
Trish and her colleagues have published several articles on flow. Their recent articles include:
Flow in youth sport, physical activity, and physical education: A systematic review
Optimal experiences in exercise: A qualitative investigation of flow and clutch states
You can follow Trish on Twitter @Trish_Jackman

Best tips & tricks for online physical activity programs - Dr Patrick Jachyra (Pt2)

Part 2. Dr Patrick Jachyra  - Online PA program | Tips & Tricks | Neurodevelopmental disorders
Dr Patrick Jachyra is working as a post-doctoral fellow at Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in University of Toronto.
His research explores, for example, physical activity participation among young people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Young people with ASD are less likely to be physically active compared to their peers, and increasingly become even less active during adolescence in both scholastic and community contexts.
The combination of declining physical activity, side effects of medication treating core symptoms of ASD, and highly sedentary behaviours position young people diagnosed with ASD to experience reduced psycho-social development and well-being.
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research
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Collect, store and manage SB and PA data easily and remotely -
Discover new Fibion SENS Motion: https://sens.fibion.com/
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Can you change sedentary behaviour in the workplace? Dr Abigail Morris (Pt2)

Dr Abigail Morris (Pt2) - Sedentary behaviour | Workplace | Behaviour change
 
Dr Abigail Morris is working as a Lecturer in Workplace Health and Well Being in Lancaster University, UK.
Her research expertise is in workplace physical activity and sedentary behaviour intervention development and evaluation. She is an interdisciplinary mixed methods researcher with experience conducting both process and outcome evaluations.
She has used a variety of methods including objective activity data, cardio-metabolic measures, self-reported survey data, ecological momentary assessment as well as focus groups and interviews. She is currently involved in designing, delivering and evaluating a Sit Less and Move More (SLAMM) multi-component intervention among call centre workers (2016-2019).
She has also been involved in the delivery and evaluation of Exertime (2018-2019) and Rise and Recharge (2019-2020) interventions which aim to reduce total and prolonged sedentary time and increase physical activity at work among traditional office workers. These projects are technology-based interventions and involve collaboration with national and international colleagues in both the UK and Australia.
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research
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Collect, store and manage SB, PA and 3-axis acceleration data easily and remotely 
Discover new Fibion SENS Motion: https://sens.fibion.com/
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How do Runners make sense of Run-commuting as a Mobile Practice (Pt1)? Dr Simon Cook - Meaningful Sport Series

Run-commuting is an increasingly popular mobile practice in which people run between home and work. But who are the people who are doing this and what are the experiences and meanings attached to it? Does running take on new meanings when it is used as transport?
Dr Simon Cook explored run-commuting in his PhD research and shares his insights on this interesting phenomenon in this podcast. As an experienced runner, he has practiced running in various ways and also shares his own reflections on the shifts of the meaning of running in his life. 
Simon Cook is a human geographer and runner based at Birmingham City University. He is currently a Senior Lecturer in Academic Support in the Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences. His PhD research (completed in 2020) in Human Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London, investigated the rise of run-commuting in the UK. His ongoing research projects focus on multi-modal mobilities, post-collision cycling practices and running during social distancing.  
You can follow Simon on Twitter @SimonIanCook and read more about his work at https://jographies.wordpress.com/. 

What is musical learning? Dr Lynne Kenney (Pt2)

Part 2. Dr Lynne Kenney – Musical learning | Rhythm | Movement
Dr. Kenney has advanced fellowship training in forensic psychology and developmental pediatric psychology from Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Harbor-UCLA/UCLA Medical School. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Physical Education from the University of Southern California. In 1992, she earned her Doctorate in Psychology at Pepperdine University. 
Dr. Kenney develops curriculum, programming, and activities to improve children’s cognition through coordinative cognitive-motor movement, executive function skill-building strategies, and social-emotional learning. 
Dr. Kenney’s books include 70 Play Activities for Better Thinking, Self-Regulation, Learning and Behavior (Kenney & Comizio, 2016), the Social-Emotional Literacy program, Bloom Your Room™; Musical Thinking™; and Bloom: 50 things to say, think and do with anxious, angry and over-the-top-kids (Kenney & Young, 2015). Her professional development platform The Kinetic Classroom brings executive function education and cognitive-motor movement to educators and clinicians worldwide.
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research
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Collect, store and manage SB and PA data easily and remotely -
Discover new Fibion SENS Motion: https://sens.fibion.com/
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Are research findings reported too negatively? Dr Paul Kelly (Pt2)

Dr Paul Kelly (Pt2) - PA | Positive vs. Negative | Research vs.Teaching | Global vs. Local
Dr Paul Kelly is a Lecturer in Physical Activity for Health at the University of Edinburgh. He is based at the Physical Activity for Health Research Centre (PAHRC). Paul previously worked at the University of Oxford, where he completed a PhD in the validity and reliability of self-reported travel behaviour.
His current research focuses on evaluating initiatives aimed at increasing physical activity, and the health benefits (physical and mental) of these initiatives. He is particularly interested in walking and cycling, and is currently involved in evaluating the new 20mph schemes in Edinburgh and Belfast to see how speeds, collisions and walking and cycling may be impacted. He is also involved in multiple systematic and scoping reviews using data from large cohort studies and RCTs. He has a related research interest in improving the way we assess physical activity behaviour and energy expenditure through more valid and reliable measures.
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research
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Collect, store and manage SB and PA data easily and remotely -
Discover new Fibion SENS Motion: https://sens.fibion.com/
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Is Running a way to Flee the Absurdity of Human Existence (Pt1)? Prof. John Kaag - Meaningful Sport Series

Running - as well as other sports - can provide moments of transcendence, but it can also become a distraction and an escape from the absurdity of human existence. How can existential philosophy, especially the works of Camus and Nietzsche, help us understand how we slip from running as a life-affirming activity to running as an obsession?
In this episode, John Kaag shares his personal story as a runner and leads us to explore running (and other sports) from an existential philosophical perspective. The specific focus is on Camus's philosophy and the key ideas such as 'the absurd' and 'philosophical suicide' and how we can think of these in the context of our sporting activities.
John Kaag is Professor and Chair of Philosophy at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He is the author of several books including Hiking with Nietzsche: On Becoming Who you Are. Our conversation draws from his recent essay How to Live with Dying published in The American Scholar.
You can follow John on Twitter @JohnKaag.

Introducing a new series and a new host!

This is a bonus episode introducing our new host Anum Urooj and her new series. The series aims to get the perspectives of researchers, policy makers and practitioners from across the globe on the area of physical activity from multiple disciplines such as Psychology, Public Health, Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences and Sport Management.
The topics covered will depend on the expertise of the guest but will broadly include definition of PA, theoretical perspectives, measurement of PA, benefits of PA, facilitators and barriers for PA participation, programmes/interventions to address physical inactivity crisis and many more. Stay tuned!

What do we know about the Spiritual Dimension of Sport in Sport Psychology? Drs Nesti & Ronkainen (Pt1) - Meaningful Sport Series

In this episode, facilitated by Olli Tikkanen, Noora and Mark discuss their work together on the spiritual dimension of sport. While there is growing literature on spirituality in health psychology and occupational psychology, it still remains a somewhat marginal topic in sport studies and especially sport psychology. The episode focuses on exploring what spirituality is, the challenges researchers face when trying to conceptualise it, and the role of culture when we discuss spirituality. Mark also defends a view that love has a spiritual dimension to it.
The discussion draws on the book that Noora and Mark wrote together, Meaning and Spirituality in Sport and Exercise: Psychological Perspectives  (Routledge, 2018). The book explores the many forms of spirituality in sport from a psychological perspective including experiences of transcendence and finding deeper meaning to moments of disjuncture such as career-threatening injury and ageing.

Why motor movement is essential for all learning? - Dr Lynne Kenney (Pt1)

Part 1. Dr Lynne Kenney - Preliteracy | Physical literacy | Learning
Dr. Kenney has advanced fellowship training in forensic psychology and developmental pediatric psychology from Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and Harbor-UCLA/UCLA Medical School. She holds a BA in Psychology and an MA in Physical Education from the University of Southern California. In 1992, she earned her Doctorate in Psychology at Pepperdine University. 
Dr. Kenney develops curriculum, programming, and activities to improve children’s cognition through coordinative cognitive-motor movement, executive function skill-building strategies, and social-emotional learning. 
Dr. Kenney’s books include 70 Play Activities for Better Thinking, Self-Regulation, Learning and Behavior (Kenney & Comizio, 2016), the Social-Emotional Literacy program, Bloom Your Room™; Musical Thinking™; and Bloom: 50 things to say, think and do with anxious, angry and over-the-top-kids (Kenney & Young, 2015). Her professional development platform The Kinetic Classroom brings executive function education and cognitive-motor movement to educators and clinicians worldwide.
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research---
 
 

Stories of Athletes From Underserved Communities (Pt1) - Rob Book - Meaningful Sport Series

Athletes' careers have been studied for several decades, but fairly little is known about those athletes who come from underserved communities and whose formative years have been accompanied by violence, poverty and instability.
Rob Book worked as a physical education teacher and coach in one of the most challenging school districts in the United States, engaging in highly stressful yet meaningful work. He then transitioned from a teacher to a researcher to explore those athletes' developmental pathways who come from these communities. In this episode, he reflects on his experiences working in this environment and shares findings from his ongoing research.
Rob and his supervisory team have recently published two articles that form the basis of our conversation, Oatmeal is better than no meal: the career pathways of African American male professional athletes from underserved communities in the United States and Sink or swim: career narratives of two African American athletes from underserved communities in the United States.
Rob Book is a PhD candidate at the Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark. His research project is 'Empowering youth athletes against the odds: Athletic talent development environments in underserved communities'. 
You can follow Rob on Twitter @book_rob.

New Year Bonus Episode - Plans for 2021

This is a short bonus episode, in which Olli and Noora reflect back on 2020 and reveal some plans for 2021. Check out and hear more about the new podcast series, openings for internships and much more.

Working with Validity in Qualitative Research (Pt1) - Drs Ronkainen & Wiltshire

There is a long tradition of debates on how to address the quality and rigour of qualitative research. In sport and exercise psychology (SEP), the relativist perspective has been the dominant viewpoint in these debates.
In the absence of published critiques of the relativist perspective in SEP, Drs Ronkainen and Wiltshire wrote a paper Rethinking validity in qualitative sport and exercise psychology research: a realist perspective. They argued that the relativist approach becomes problematic when attempting to reject the “anything goes” problem because of the assumptions of internal, multiple, and mind-dependent realities. Drawing on realist literature in other fields of social science, they proposed using realist principles of ontological plausibility, empirical adequacy and practical utility in working with threats to validity.
The podcast episode provides an overview of the debate, arguments of the paper, and the story behind the writing. 
Dr Gareth Wiltshire is a lecturer at Loughborough University with broad interests related to the social determinants of health. His work is largely informed by concepts and theories derived from sociology but is proactive in engaging with researchers, practitioners and ideas across different disciplines such as medicine, education, psychology, philosophy, social marketing and behavioural science. He has specialist knowledge in qualitative research having utilised a range of ethnographic, interview and visual methods in the past. You can find out more about Gareth's work on his personal website.
Dr Noora Ronkainen is one of the hosts of the Physical Activity Researcher Podcast and creator of Meaningful Sport. She is a senior researcher the University of Jyväskylä and works a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions research fellow in a project "Learning and Being in Sport: A Phenomenological Investigation".
 

The most important changes in WHO guidelines are... Dr Emmanuel Stamatakis (Pt1)

2020 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour
The World Health Organization (WHO) released in 2020 updated global guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children, adolescents, adults, older adults and sub-populations such as pregnant and postpartum women and those living with chronic conditions or disabilities.
 
 

Flow in Sport, Exercise and PE – Dr Trish Jackman (Pt1) - Meaningful Sport Series

Today we are discussing flow in sport, exercise and physical activity. What do we know about these highly rewarding experiences? What are the current trends and challenges in the research on flow? Might flow be experienced differently in different types of sport and exercise? And how does flow relate to other dimensions such as embodiment, spirituality, 'being in the zone' and peak performance?
Dr Trish Jackman is a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Psychology at University of Lincoln, who shares her thoughts on flow in sport and exercise from a research and a personal perspective.
Trish and her colleagues have published several articles on flow. You can access their recent work here:
Psychological States Underlying Excellent Performance in Sport: Toward an Integrated Model of Flow and Clutch States
Optimal experiences in exercise: A qualitative investigation of flow and clutch states
You can follow Trish on Twitter @Trish_Jackman

Finding Meaning in Movement after Retirement from Elite Sport – Kriss Akabusi MBE (Pt2) – Meaningful Sport Series

This is the second part of our discussion with Kriss Akabusi, MBE, on Meaningful Sport. Kriss is an Olympian, Motivational Speaker and Businessman. In his outstanding athletic career, he achieved three Olympic medals, as well as World, European and Commonwealth titles.
In the first part of our discussion, Kriss shared some stories from his elite athletic career and boundary situations in that journey, and we discussed the tough world of elite sport. In this second part, we move to explore the meaning of sport in his life after the elite athletic career, and discuss the spiritual dimension of sport. We also explore existential philosophy, especially the works of Heidegger and Nietzsche, and how these thinkers have inspired Kriss and his way of thinking and living his life in and outside of sport.
You can follow Kriss on Twitter at @KrissAkabusi and @AkabusiCompany and find out more about him and his work at www.akabusi.com.
 

Identity and Spirituality in Sport – Sam Jarman (Pt2) - Meaningful Sport Series

Welcome back to our discussion with Sam Jarman. Sam played professional golf for about 10 years before transitioning to coaching and specializing in the mental side of the game. In this second part of our discussion, we move to explore the spiritual dimension of sport, questions about finding out who we are, and also discuss the mental health crisis in sport.   
Sam works with teams, coaches and players in a number of sports, helping them learn about the mental side of their games. He has written two books on the subject for golfers, the Three Principles of Outstanding Golf and Take Relief. Originally a golf professional, he has experience working in professional football and rugby environments, as well as amateur clubs and schools. He currently works as the Wellbeing and Performance coach for Buckinghamshire Cricket and BB&O Golf.
Sam brings a different approach to learning about the mental side of sport, emphasising understanding and self-enquiry, rather than prescribing techniques or coping strategies.
You can find out more about Sam and his work at https://samjarmangolf.com/ and https://sportsprinciples.com/.
You will find Sam on Twitter @SamJarmanGolf
 

Elite Sport and Existentialism: A Personal Journey – Kriss Akabusi MBE (Pt1) – Meaningful Sport Series

Kriss Akabusi, MBE, is an Olympian, motivational speaker and businessman. He achieved three Olympic medals, as well as World, European and Commonwealth titles in his outstanding career as a sprint and hurdling athlete. Very interestingly for our Meaningful Sport podcast, Kriss is drawn to existential philosophy and how it can help us in making sense of our lives and our sport.
In this first part of our discussion with Kriss, we start exploring his life as an elite athlete. Why was Kriss drawn to sport? Would he do sport "for nothing"? Were there 'boundary situations' in his elite athletic career that forced him to rethink the way he engaged with sport?
You can follow Kriss on Twitter at @KrissAkabusi and @AkabusiCompany and find out more about him and his work at www.akabusi.com.

Developing a Philosophical Perspective on Sport – Sam Jarman (Pt1) – Meaningful Sport Series

Many of us start playing sport because we just fall in love with it. However, many athletes who progress to a higher level of competition lose the joy of sport on the way and their sport-life becomes filled with worry and anxiety. This is a phenomenon Sam Jarman has encountered in many athletes he has worked with. Sport has become a means to happiness rather than an experience of happiness in itself.
In this episode, Sam tells about his life as a professional athlete and subsequent work on the mental side of sport, including the philosophical perspective that guides his work. According to him, we first need to address the 'Big Questions' about the nature of reality and our beliefs and values before thinking about any techniques to try to solve our problems. And actually, if we confront and address these questions, the other problems might resolve; we (again) just play our sport.  
Sam works with teams, coaches and players in a number of sports, helping them learn about the mental side of their games. He has written two books on the subject for golfers. Originally a golf professional, he has experience working in professional football and rugby environments, as well as amateur clubs and schools. He currently works as the Wellbeing and Performance coach for Buckinghamshire Cricket and BB&O Golf.
Sam brings a different approach to learning about the mental side of sport, emphasising understanding and self enquiry, rather than prescribing techniques or coping strategies.
You can find out more about Sam and his work at https://samjarmangolf.com/ and on Twitter @SamJarmanGolf

Using consumer activity trackers in research? Dr Alexander Montoye (Pt3)

Dr Alexander Montoye (Pt3) - Consumer activity trackers | Accelerometry
Dr Alexander Montoye is working as an Assistant professor of Clinical Exercise Physiology at Alma College, Michigan, U.S. His main research area involves physical activity monitoring devices. He studies the accuracy and reliability of various physical activity monitors and also uses them as intervention tools to help individuals become more physically active.
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This podcast episode is sponsored by Fibion Inc. | The New Gold Standard for Sedentary Behaviour and Physical Activity Monitoring
Learn more about Fibion: fibion.com/research---